The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of self-reported periodontal disease and symptoms to predict periodontal disease history in a German population. We analysed data from 246 patients who answered a self-administered questionnaire on self-perceived periodontal disease and self-reported symptoms of periodontal disease. Actual periodontal status was assessed from panoramic radiographs and periodontal disease was defined as > or = 3 teeth with radiographic alveolar bone loss (ABL) > 5 mm (prevalence 39%). Sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) of self-reported items for diagnosis of periodontal disease history were calculated. The diagnostic accuracy of any individual item was generally low. For example, self-perceived periodontal disease had SN of 49% and SP of 67%. All self-reported items had low sensitivity, while self-reported professionally diagnosed bone loss, tooth loss caused by periodontal disease and mobility had SP > 90%. In conclusion, we did not identify a single individual question that can assess periodontal disease from self-reporting with satisfactory validity. Future studies will evaluate whether multivariate prediction rules using information from several self-reported variables are a valid means to ascertain periodontal disease history.